How much do you really know about the coldest place in the world? Expand your knowledge of Antarctica with these surprising facts.
Ah, Antarctica. Cold, windy, covered in ice and, um, did we mention cold? While those adjectives may all be accurate, this icy wonderland is one of the most captivating and unexpected travel destinations in the world. You might only know it for its frozen landscapes and lack of permanent human residents, but there’s so much more beneath the ice.
For example, did you know it hosts an annual race? Or that it has a blood-red waterfall—and not a polar bear (or dog!) in sight? Below, we’ll explore some interesting tidbits about Antarctica that will make you see this frozen continent in a whole new light.
Read on for the (ahem) coolest facts you’ll learn today.
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1. Antarctica’s ice is more than a mile thick
The North Pole gets all the attention this time of year, but what about the South Pole? The southernmost spot on earth and Antarctica, the continent it sits on, are surreal. At the South Pole, the sun rises just once a year—and doesn’t set until six months later. The landscape: snow and ice as far as the eye can see, and that ice extends down more than a mile. In some places, it’s almost 3 miles thick.
2. People do live here—but not many
Few have set foot in Antarctica. Its only inhabitants—between 1,000 and 5,000 people, depending on the season—live at one of 70 permanent research stations on the continent. Their food has to be flown or shipped in, since it can’t be grown in the ground. Between the scientists and their support staff, roughly 3,000 Americans are stationed in Antarctica annually. To minimize their environmental impact, most of the garbage they generate gets shipped back to the United States.
3. There’s an Antarctic Treaty for scientific research
All countries conducting research in Antarctica have promised to adhere to the Antarctic Treaty, which designates the continent as a place to be used only for peaceful and scientific purposes. The flags of all 12 original signers of the 1959 treaty (Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the U.K., the U.S. and the USSR) are flown around the South Pole.
4. Norway was the first to reach the South Pole
The first person to reach the South Pole was Roald Amundsen of Norway. He and his team arrived on Dec. 14, 1911. Just weeks later, Englishman Robert F. Scott and his party found the tent that Amundsen’s team left behind, which told the Brits that they had been beaten to it. Both explorers are immortalized at the South Pole with a plaque—and in the name of the U.S.-run Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
5. Antarctica is home to the Race Around the World
People at that station celebrate Christmas with an annual Race Around the World. It’s just for fun, and some participants tackle it on skis, sleds or motorized vehicles. The “course,” while only 2 miles long, crosses every line of longitude—since they all meet at the poles.
6. It’s colder than you think
It’s very cold in Antarctica, around minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit this time of year—and it’s summer in the Southern Hemisphere. In the winter, temps can drop to minus 112 degrees, and the coldest temperature ever recorded there was minus 128.6 degrees. The closer to the coast, the warmer it gets. It can even climb to a balmy 50 degrees.
7. There are no polar bears in Antarctica
No dogs either, even though sled dogs played a huge role in helping Amundsen reach the South Pole. Dogs have been banned since 1994 because of concerns about their impact on native species. For one thing, dogs like to go after birds, and Antarctica is home to an estimated 20 million penguins.
8. Antarctica is considered a desert
While it contains 90% of earth’s ice and 70% of earth’s fresh water, Antarctica counts as a desert because it gets so little snowfall—less than 2 inches per year. That makes Antarctica the driest continent. It’s also the windiest. The highest wind speed recorded there: 199 mph. A small wind farm on one of Antarctica’s islands generates enough energy to replace more than 100,000 gallons of diesel fuel.
9. It’s the size of the U.S. and Mexico combined
Roughly! But, as anyone who has put an ice tray in the freezer knows, ice takes up more space than water. In winter, the sea ice in Antarctica can cover up to 7 million square miles. But by the end of summer, it can shrink to less than 700,000 square miles. As the sea ice melts, it gets pulled into a current that runs around the continent. This current has a flow more than 100 times greater than all the rivers on earth combined.
10. Antarctica is known for its crimson waterfall
Among the most unusual geological features in Antarctica is a crimson waterfall, aptly named Blood Falls. The water, which cascades over the edge of the Taylor Glacier, is so rich in iron that it immediately oxidizes (or rusts) when it comes into contact with the air, turning bright red and leaving a steady streak in the ice as if it had a gushing wound.
11. It has two active volcanoes
Yet another reddish feature is the lake of lava at Mount Erebus, one of two active volcanoes in Antarctica. With at least 100 inactive ones, the continent has the highest concentration of volcanoes on earth. The molten magma in Erebus’s lava lake continuously churns, remaining red-hot despite the continent’s low temperatures.
12. Scientists aren’t the only ones working in Antarctica
The main U.S. outpost, McMurdo Station, employs more than 1,000 people during the summer season. Among them: cooks, janitors, medics, mechanics and more. In some ways, working in Antarctica is not unlike camp or college. Staff sleep in dorms, eat in dining halls and partake in extracurriculars such as bands, book clubs, movie nights, arts and crafts, and yoga classes.
13. It’s becoming a popular tourist destination
To experience Antarctica as a tourist, you could take a scenic flight over it. Several cruise lines also make the trek. Despite hefty prices (Viking Cruises’s Antarctica tours start at $13,000), the bottom of the world is becoming a popular destination. During the 2023–2024 season, more than 100,000 people visited Antarctica. Overseeing them: the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators. Their strict travel guidelines ensure the continued protection of one of the most preserved regions on the planet.
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Sources:
- Cool Antarctica: “The South Pole”
- United States Antarctica Program: “Overview”
- The Westport Library: “Antarctic Science Research”
- Library of Congress Blogs: “Reaching the South Pole During the Heroic Age of Exploration”
- National Museum Australia: “Dogs and Diplomacy”
- PBS: “Antarctic Almanac”
- Travel + Leisure: “This Enigmatic Natural Phenomenon Creates a Blood-red Waterfall—What to Know”
- Voyagers: “Antarctica’s Rise as a Tourist Destination: The Influence of Social Media | Travel News”
Originally Published in Reader's Digest
